Moving from a 5 point harness to a booster seat

roses25

For those of you that do extended rear facing, do you also use the 5 point harness as long as the seat will allow once forward facing? If so how long do you plan on using the harness?

I know several people that did extended rear facing but then quickly moved to booster seat mode. However, their children are also like 15-20 pounds heavier than my five year old. Aiden is only like 31 pounds and the radian says 50 pounds before moving to booster mode. So I think we've got many more years in 5 point harness mode.

coryandamanda

We do. We RF to either 4 yo or when they reach the limits, whichever is first. They have all made it to 4 and just happened to be really close to the limits at that age anyway. To transition to a booster our rule is either 8 yo or reach limits. Looks like our oldest will reach 8 before she reaches the limits. She is 7 years 1 month and is 47.75" and 48-49 lbs.

Shanny

In some states, including mine children must be 40 pounds before they can legally ride in a booster. For us, Kate hit that number at 6 years old but she will be in a harnessed seat until it is no longer possible. I think 9 is probably reasonable based on her size but I don't have a definite plan for 9. I can definitely say not until at least 8. My niece will be 8 next month and is still comfortably in her 5 pt harness.

mel

Shanny made a good point about 40 pounds being the limit for a booster. Some states will allow them earlier, but they really shouldn't. No matter what your state law says, everyone should definitely use a 5 point harness as long as possible. Mine are in the process of moving to boosters at almost 6.5 years old but only because they have outgrown their Radian harnesses, and different seats are not an option for us because I have to have 3 in a row.

For what it's worth, I am only really comfortable with the booster fit on my child who is 55 pounds. The others still seem too small. There is no way I would put a 31 pound child in a booster.

TheOtherLovingMoms

My 5.5 year old granddaughter will be in a 5 pt harness for as long as it fits. The rate she is growing she will still be in it at 13. There is no way in he!! I would put a 31 pounder in a booster.

roses25

Thanks for your responses. I have no plans to move him to a booster anytime soon and with our radian it doesn't look like he'll be large enough to do so until he's 9-10 years old. It just seems like all of his friends around here, even those that extended rear faced have moved onto a booster seat. I'm glad to hear that there are others that wait a lot longer.

fisch

We still have jack in a harness and he is almost 7. It has crossed my mind to switch, but he doesn't care or complain and his sister, although legally heavy enough is not ready. She would definately give us a hard time if jack didn't have the straps. We have occasionally used a backless booster for jack, when traveling, or last minute pick ups from family in a pinch. They are also nice for the plane.

Zen

Our booster seat has a 5-point harness. I'm hoping to keep her in it another 2 years. I'm not a fanatic and there have been times when she's been in a car with another trusted driver without her seat. But by and large I want to keep her as safe as possible for as long as possible!

mel

Zen wrote:

I'm not a fanatic and there have been times when she's been in a car with another trusted driver without her seat.

Do you mean in a booster seat (and therefore not her 5-point harness), or another kind of car seat? Because I'm sure you know it's illegal and horrifically unsafe for her to be in no seat at all...I really hope I'm just misunderstanding your comment!

coryandamanda

Mel, unfortunately in Florida is not illegal for a six-year-old to not be in any sort of booster or car seat. Right now a four-year-old can ride legally without a seat. Thankfully that is changing to six years old in January. I can't tell you how many times I have seen kids just bouncing around in the backseat of cars or riding in the front seat! It makes me sick to my stomach.

mel

Wow. That is scary. You hope parents realize the safety risk but I'm sure there are a lot who just don't care!

sara291

Z will be 7 in April is 48 pounds and semi short. He is I. He is still in a 5-pt harness in his Radian. R is 39 pounds at 4.5 and here legally he can't use a booster yet though he probably has a few years to go anyways in a 5 pt harness. My Radian goes FF in a harness until 80 pounds. Z is short at almost 7 so we have a ways. There has been a few (very few) times he has used a very nice Highback booster but other then that I don't see any valid reason to switch them.

Shanny

Just wanted to throw out there that at Aiden's size Kate was still Rear Facing

She moved to FF at about 36 pounds and a few months before her 5th birthday.

friendamy

my lil dude outgrew the harness in his nautilus just before his 7th birthday (he was 52lbs and 50" tall I think), so now he's in a HBB and will be until he outgrows that! whether that's 8 or 18.

I know there are seats that could still harness him, but he does great in the booster, and three seats at $200+ just is not in the budget. I made it almost 3 years longer than most kids... my cousins switched their kids at 4 years, and I'd be willing to bet half of them weren't 40lbs

I'd keep kids RF as long as possible, and harnessed as long as possible! I wish there had been more ERF options 5 years ago (that weren't over $300!). there are so many ERF options now that won't break the bank.

scorpiogrl7

I just want to say you ladies have taught me so much about car seat safety! I wish I could link people to some of these threads when I see them posting pictures on Facebook. I have a friend who has her 4-year-old riding around in a backless booster in her convertible. It kills me.

mysweetangel

We did erf as well. I turned Kaylee ff just shy of turning 4 because she was too tall for her radian. Brayden is still rf'ing at 3 yrs old and will stay that way for a while, he's not nearly as tall as my Kaylee was. I currently have her in a britax frontier because it was the tallest harness I could find. I plan on keeping her harnessed until she outgrows the seat. She's about 45" at 5 yrs old.

MummyBird

I had my daughter, M, RF in a radian until 2 months shy of 4, when she was about to hit the weight limit.

FF in the Radian until last spring, age 6, because she hit the weight limit. She is also very tall, and was using the entire length of the strap.

She is now in a Britax backed booster (parkway?). She just turned 7, and is 86 pounds and 54.5 inches tall. Went with Britax for the high weight limit. Also the only one her butt could fit into!!

Zen

Mel - it's not a question of love or caring. Parents who don't extend car seat use love their children just as much as we do. They just don't see the danger. Car seats, breast feeding, GMO vs organic food, TV time, juice ... none are a measure of love or an indicator of neglect. They simply highlight knowledge, dedication, and commitment.

Once a week Shiloh rides home from school with a neighbor whose little boy is in the same aftercare program. The trip is less than a 1/2 mile inside our community. I don't love or care for Shiloh less at 5pm Friday each week.

Ironically, I get more censure from my real life friends than I do here. They think the 5-point booster is neurotic. Believe I obsess over food when they see me cut up cucumbers and strawberries at family dinner because the kid doesn't like cooked vegetables. Thought I was overreacting when I took my 15 month old to therapy when she showed no interest in walking. Thought I lost it when I wanted her IQ tested before kindergarten. And hearing her read now they go back and forth between praising my little wonder child and bashing me for stealing her childhood by pressuring her in school.

I do the best I can with what I know. I share here because I like interacting with those on the same parenting journey as me. But it's like a cruise. We can be in the same boat and have completely different trips depending on the choices and stops chosen!

mel

oh, I wasn't talking about love when I mentioned caring. I was talking about statistics of car crashes and physics.

I'll make a confession to illustrate how yes, things are just different with different parents. Not many people here know this, but I've had a horrifically stressful past 3 months. I was under gigantic financial stress, things were tough at school, and mostly, things were tough at home as my ex finally moved out and we started splitting custody. During all of this, we were swapping one booster back and forth because I couldn't afford an extra one. So, my ex would take them to school, leave the booster in the house, and I'd pick it up on the way to the kids' school when I picked them up. Only one day I was running late, and I was afraid I wouldn't make it to their school in time, and I just forgot to stop at home. I didn't realize this until I walked back to the car with the kids. I couldn't take one back to aftercare, so my options were walking home with all 3 and walking back with the bulky booster, or just driving home. I made the choice to buckle my largest child (54 pounds, 48 inches) into the regular seat belt and drive home. It was .4 mile, I drove slowly and carefully, and I still feel terrible about it. I still feel like I should have walked home to get the booster. Not because it was illegal, but because I took a chance with my child that was unnecessary.

So, I totally get the aftercare situation. I get that less than a half mile is a short distance, because my trip is the same. But in your situation, I'd still choose to spend the $30 on a booster that would fit the belt properly on my child. She is statistically safer that way, and it's an easy thing to do.

I understand your point about making different parenting choices, and I agree on most of them (cloth diapering and such) but car safety is different for me because it is not entirely in my control. It doesn't matter how safe the driver is, there are other people on the road who can cause accidents.

Shanny

Zen - look at the bubble bum for the Friday situation.